To Michael Damian and
Lynne Thomas: Why We Read Science Fiction
By Joshua Rodriguez
Why do
lovers of science fiction keep reading science fiction? Why not read some other
type of fiction that becomes popular as time moves on? What keeps people coming
back for more? There must be some kind of distinctive, unique element that
science fiction provides that no other genre can bring. To find this unique element,
we must first distinguish science fiction from fantasy, two genres that are
similar. Science fiction stories, according to Hugo
Gernsback, “Must be an exposition of a scientific theme, [and] it must be
reasonable and logical and must be based upon known scientific principles.”
This contrasts it from fantasy, which is based on fantastical elements that are
not based upon the given world. In my opinion, this is kind of a cheat. Fantasy
literature’s gist cheapens it since its inspiration comes from otherworldly
sources. Science fiction, I feel, is more legitimate since it is based upon
worldly properties or reasonable expansions upon what is possible. Its
legitimacy makes science fiction more enjoyable to read, in my opinion.
What keeps
people reading science fiction? As stated before, science fiction is based on
scientific principles, on properties of the real world. I am quite interested
in the scientific realm of knowledge, being intrigued by new developments that
I see in the news. I even go to a school, IMSA, a quarter of the acronym being
devoted to science along with most of the curricula of the classes taught
there. It can be said that I love being in contact with scientific principles.
That said, science fiction is based on scientific principles and every time I
read a piece of science fiction some part of me inside erupts in joy in seeing
these in what I read. I read science fiction to satisfy my hunger for
scientific pursuits.
Why do I
keep reading science fiction? Science, as a wealth of knowledge, is always expanding
with today’s scientists discovering new things about concepts built from the
discoveries of scientists from yesteryear. As a result, there will always be
new concepts that writers can draw from the realm of science in order to create
the next great science fiction masterpiece. For example, H.P. Lovecraft’s “The
Colour Out of Space” explores the consequences of alien life on earth and
was published in 1927. Tom Godwin’s “The Cold Equations”
published in 1954 explores the problems in interplanetary travel. This topic
was only possible due to the scientific progress at the time, with rockets and
space travel being possible around the same time.
This class,
as a whole, brought my love for science fiction back. It made me realize what
makes science fiction great and reignited my reading of science fiction stories
which I see continuing into the near future.
Josh,
ReplyDeleteSo, it looks like the real, boiled-down answer to the Thomases' question, for you, is: "I read short sf because it builds off the science I see in the world around me." I wonder if that's all that different from fantasy after all, though? I mean, fantasy builds off the human element of the world around you -- politics, power, gender, mysticism, all of that and more. There's a (potential) concreteness to science fiction, perhaps, that exceeds what we usually see in fantasy, but I think both genres still really are talking to us about elements of the given world.
Best,
TT